1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an optical exposure unit for exposing photosensitive material with light beam transmitted through a photographic film and a digital exposure unit for exposing the photosensitive material with light beam irradiated according to digital image data.
2. Description of Related Art
An image forming apparatus noted above is known from e.g. Japanese laid-open patent gazette Hei. 9-73140. According to this apparatus, in a transporting path along which a print paper drawn out of a paper magazine is transported by a transport mechanism to a photographic developer unit, there are provided an optical exposure point where the print paper is exposed by the optical exposure unit and a digital exposure point where the paper is exposed by the digital exposure unit. The apparatus further includes a paper-loop forming section between the two exposure points, so that an exposure operation by the optical exposure unit and an exposure operation by the digital exposure unit may take place independently of each other.
The conventional construction described above requires two separate spaces for providing the two exposure points respectively. In association therewith, there is another requirement for providing two separate transport mechanisms for moving and aligning the print paper to and at the respective exposure points. These requirements will present significant difficulty in forming the apparatus compact if e.g. the apparatus is to be integrated as a printer processor within a mini laboratory system.